Terror suspect Awso Peshdary worked closely with Ottawa youth
Days before Awso Peshdary was arrested and charged as a key figure in
a national terrorism investigation, he was teaching children how to
shoot hoops in an Ottawa public school gymnasium.
Peshdary, who was described by CSIS spies as a talent spotter and recruiter for a convicted terrorist when he was first arrested in 2010, was most recently employed as a youth services worker with the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre on Richmond Rd.
Peshdary worked primarily at the affiliated Winthrop Court Community House, and every Thursday evening, he was at the nearby Regina St. Public School "leading kids through sports activities," according to PQCHC executive director Wanda MacDonald.
Peshdary, 24 at the time, was one of three contracted youth services workers delivering the program, which on a typical evening would see 45 children enrolled in the after-school Regina Sports Night program. One of "the most popular programs" offered through Winthrop Court, according to their website, as many as 80 children are enrolled throughout the year.
Peshdary was still under contract -- signing a six-month deal in September for 14 part-time hours per week -- when the RCMP arrested him Feb. 3, calling him a "prominent figure" in a massive national security investigation dubbed Project Servant.
Peshdary had also been swept up in the 2010 Project Samossa arrests -- which netted terror convictions against ringleader Hiva Alizadeh and accomplice Misbahuddin Ahmed -- and though Peshdary was never charged with terror offences, a covert source described him in court testimony as a recruiter for Alizadeh's local terror network.
Peshdary had been under intensive surveillance at the time, and police charged him with domestic assault after overhearing a dispute with his wife, but those charges were later dropped when his wife refused to testify against him.
MacDonald said before hiring Peshdary, they conducted standard criminal background checks, which "came back clean."
According to Ottawa police, only convictions would appear as red flags on background checks.
That didn't sit well with parents of children enrolled in the Regina Sports Night.
"They're hiring people like this?" said Shane, father of a nine-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl, both enrolled in Regina Sports Night.
"They told me they did a criminal background check, but (RCMP have been watching him) for four years. That's gotta come up on a criminal record check. They hired this guy to deal with kids."
A week before Peshdary was arrested, Shane got a phone call from Peshdary, telling him his son had been "kicked out" of the program for fighting with another student.
According to Shane, the two men briefly argued on the phone before Peshdary hung up.
But it was only after Peshdary had been arrested on terrorism charges that Shane made the connection.
"I was sitting at home reading the Ottawa Sun, and my son came up to me and said, 'What's Awso doing in the paper?' I couldn't believe it was him."
Shane immediately phoned Regina St. principal Robert James, then the PQCHC to voice his concerns.
But Peshdary's involvement with the PQCHC wasn't limited to coaching children.
While the sports night was designed for children from age 6 to 11, Peshdary was also helping lead a youth basketball program for kids age 10 to 18.
He first came to work at the PQCHC in 2013 through a co-op placement as part of the Social Services Worker program at Algonquin College, eventually graduating from the two-year diploma program in the spring of 2014.
Peshdary was active within the college's Muslim Students Association, and conditions of his arrest prohibit him from communicating with several current and former Algonquin students, including MSA executives Adbalrahman Naddaf and Mohammed Tulul.
Peshdary completed his placement working in the PQCHC's volunteer services department, and the agency later hired him on a four-month contract as an income tax co-ordinator, where he helped people file their returns during the spring tax season.
He applied for the same position this year.
"He did a good job (last year) and applied to do it again, and he was accepted," said MacDonald. "But he still hadn't signed his contract when he was arrested."
After arresting Peshdary, the Mounties charged him with acting as a financier for a homegrown terror network, connecting him to jihadi John Maguire, and alleging Peshdary helped provide money to send local recruits overseas to join the ranks of ISIS.
RCMP chief supt. Jennifer Strachan said both Maguire and Peshdary "were involved in radicalization, mainly through social media but also through interaction with other people."
Calling radicalization "a form of exploitation of our communities," Strachan said youth between the ages of 13 to 17 -- the same age range the PQCHC hired Peshdary to serve -- are particularly "vulnerable to radicalization."
"While law enforcement is an effective means to combat terrorism, it represents only one part of the solution," said Strachan. "Another part of the answer is found in our streets, in our homes and in our communities."
Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/10/terror-suspect-awso-peshdary-worked-closely-with-ottawa-youth
Peshdary, who was described by CSIS spies as a talent spotter and recruiter for a convicted terrorist when he was first arrested in 2010, was most recently employed as a youth services worker with the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre on Richmond Rd.
Peshdary worked primarily at the affiliated Winthrop Court Community House, and every Thursday evening, he was at the nearby Regina St. Public School "leading kids through sports activities," according to PQCHC executive director Wanda MacDonald.
Peshdary, 24 at the time, was one of three contracted youth services workers delivering the program, which on a typical evening would see 45 children enrolled in the after-school Regina Sports Night program. One of "the most popular programs" offered through Winthrop Court, according to their website, as many as 80 children are enrolled throughout the year.
Peshdary was still under contract -- signing a six-month deal in September for 14 part-time hours per week -- when the RCMP arrested him Feb. 3, calling him a "prominent figure" in a massive national security investigation dubbed Project Servant.
Peshdary had also been swept up in the 2010 Project Samossa arrests -- which netted terror convictions against ringleader Hiva Alizadeh and accomplice Misbahuddin Ahmed -- and though Peshdary was never charged with terror offences, a covert source described him in court testimony as a recruiter for Alizadeh's local terror network.
Peshdary had been under intensive surveillance at the time, and police charged him with domestic assault after overhearing a dispute with his wife, but those charges were later dropped when his wife refused to testify against him.
MacDonald said before hiring Peshdary, they conducted standard criminal background checks, which "came back clean."
According to Ottawa police, only convictions would appear as red flags on background checks.
That didn't sit well with parents of children enrolled in the Regina Sports Night.
"They're hiring people like this?" said Shane, father of a nine-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl, both enrolled in Regina Sports Night.
"They told me they did a criminal background check, but (RCMP have been watching him) for four years. That's gotta come up on a criminal record check. They hired this guy to deal with kids."
A week before Peshdary was arrested, Shane got a phone call from Peshdary, telling him his son had been "kicked out" of the program for fighting with another student.
According to Shane, the two men briefly argued on the phone before Peshdary hung up.
But it was only after Peshdary had been arrested on terrorism charges that Shane made the connection.
"I was sitting at home reading the Ottawa Sun, and my son came up to me and said, 'What's Awso doing in the paper?' I couldn't believe it was him."
Shane immediately phoned Regina St. principal Robert James, then the PQCHC to voice his concerns.
But Peshdary's involvement with the PQCHC wasn't limited to coaching children.
While the sports night was designed for children from age 6 to 11, Peshdary was also helping lead a youth basketball program for kids age 10 to 18.
He first came to work at the PQCHC in 2013 through a co-op placement as part of the Social Services Worker program at Algonquin College, eventually graduating from the two-year diploma program in the spring of 2014.
Peshdary was active within the college's Muslim Students Association, and conditions of his arrest prohibit him from communicating with several current and former Algonquin students, including MSA executives Adbalrahman Naddaf and Mohammed Tulul.
Peshdary completed his placement working in the PQCHC's volunteer services department, and the agency later hired him on a four-month contract as an income tax co-ordinator, where he helped people file their returns during the spring tax season.
He applied for the same position this year.
"He did a good job (last year) and applied to do it again, and he was accepted," said MacDonald. "But he still hadn't signed his contract when he was arrested."
After arresting Peshdary, the Mounties charged him with acting as a financier for a homegrown terror network, connecting him to jihadi John Maguire, and alleging Peshdary helped provide money to send local recruits overseas to join the ranks of ISIS.
RCMP chief supt. Jennifer Strachan said both Maguire and Peshdary "were involved in radicalization, mainly through social media but also through interaction with other people."
Calling radicalization "a form of exploitation of our communities," Strachan said youth between the ages of 13 to 17 -- the same age range the PQCHC hired Peshdary to serve -- are particularly "vulnerable to radicalization."
"While law enforcement is an effective means to combat terrorism, it represents only one part of the solution," said Strachan. "Another part of the answer is found in our streets, in our homes and in our communities."
Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/10/terror-suspect-awso-peshdary-worked-closely-with-ottawa-youth
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